In the design of passenger cabins for use in vehicles, one important objective is the maximization of the available number of passenger seats. This number is limited by the number of mandatory seats for crew members, as well as mandatory safety devices, arbitrary service equipment and toilets. The proportion of the number of passenger seats to the remaining equipment in passenger cabins is a factor that co-determines the operating efficiency of an aircraft in scheduled air traffic. In addition to official certification regulations and operating permits of vehicles, the operators of the vehicles also need to take into account customer's needs such as, for example, customized special installations in the selection of seat sizes, seat spacings, service equipment, and toilets. Depending on the design of fixtures in the passenger cabin and their space requirement, intelligent construction and configuration solutions can optimize the number of passenger seats.
For space reasons and lack of regulations, certain vehicles according to the prior art merely comprise standard toilets, without providing separate toilets for persons with limited mobility. For example, it should be possible for handicapped individuals to enter “handicapped toilets” with a wheelchair. Handicapped toilets of this type require much more installation space and are scarce, particularly in aircraft, because they significantly reduce the operating efficiency of the aircraft in question and are used very infrequently.
DE 43 00 877 A1 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,474,260 A describe an aircraft including service equipment and toilets that are designed in the form of independent conventional toilet compartments.
It would therefore be desirable to provide a toilet configuration for use in a vehicle (e.g. an aircraft) that is usable by both handicapped and non-handicapped individuals.
In addition, other objects, desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent summary and detailed description, and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background.